Picnics and family gatherings call for pasta salads. This Italian pasta salad beats the heat and mixes up in just a few minutes.

Pasta salads are the perfect addition to summer cookouts. This one is a proven winner with meat, cheese and olives.

If you can boil water and cut an olive in half, you can make this recipe. It is a simple side dish that always gets eaten in a hurry. You will want to plan ahead just a bit to allow time for the dish to chill in the refrigerator. While the pasta is cooling, it is soaking up that Italian dressing goodness.

It is a good thing this salad is so easy to prep you will be able to get plenty of warm weather living done before supper and not feel like you slaved in the kitchen. Fire up the grill! Supper’s ready!

Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

Recipe Ingredients:

8 oz. Pasta
15 oz. Italian Salad Dressing
5 oz. Mushrooms
5 oz. Green Olives
5 oz. Black Olives
4 oz. Pepperoni
1 c. Cheddar & Mozzarella Cheese

Preparation Directions:

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cool water. Drain well. Slice olives and pepperoni slices in half. Toss all ingredients in large bowl. Refrigerate 2 hours.

There are many shapes and varities of pasta. Photo above, courtesy of EpicureJunkie. Pick your favorite shape and serve it up. If you have a few partial packages of shapes, mix them up and use them all.

Kids love having an assortment of shapes in their salad!

Approximate Nutrition Information:

Servings Per Recipe: 8, Amount Per Serving: Calories: 228, Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 74mg, Sodium: 705g, Total Carbs: 17g, Protein: 19g.

Make it a Meal:

Serve this dish with hamburgers and you’ve got a full meal. Also goes well with Grilled Tuscan Chicken.

Recipe Variations:

Add diced onion and green peppers for more vegetables. Include some diced ham bits if you are serving meat lovers. If you are not a fan of Italian dressing, use your favorite dressing instead.

If you plan to take this dish to a family cookout, you will want to double the recipe. The bowl will still come home empty!

If you like your salad moist, add another dollop of dressing after refrigeration. Pasta absorbs dressing so the first round may be completely soaked in after an overnight chill.

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